Baltic index resumes losses, ends below 350 points

Reuters Staff

2 Min Read

Jan 26 (Reuters) - The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index, which tracks rates for ships carrying industrial commodities, resumed its fall on Tuesday to touch a new all time low on concerns of slowing global demand and vessel oversupply.

The overall index, which gauges the cost of shipping dry bulk including iron ore, cement, grain, coal and fertiliser, fell 9 points or 2.54 percent to close at 345 points.

The index has tumbled 133 points, or 28 percent, in January and is yet to register a single session of gains in 2016. On Monday, the index ended flat to halt a run of 15 consecutive losing sessions.

The dry bulk sector has taken a beating from the slowdown in Chinese business and the sector is struggling with huge overcapacity.

The capesize index fell 12 points or 4.72 percent at 242 points.

Average daily earnings for capesize vessels, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, decreased by $66 to $3,118.

The panamax index dropped 13 points or 4 percent to record a new all-time low of 312 points.

Average daily earnings for panamaxes, which usually carry coal or grain cargoes of about 60,000 to 70,000 tonnes, fell $103 to $2,497. (Reporting by Vijaykumar Vedala in Bengaluru; Editing by Katharine Houreld)